ARC’TERYX • CLINIC INSTRUCTOR

Growing up in Québec, eM dreamed of becoming a figure skater, but ended up becoming a professional climber instead. Those close to her swear she is actually the reincarnation of a circus monkey. eM’s ability to comfortably hang upside down at a crux makes their belayers exhausted and pumped just watching them. eM’s tenacity is always inspiring, especially when she sends which happens often. Happy-go-lucky, eM’s outlook on life is nothing short of endearingly earnest. eM is cool, calm and confident even in the most stressful situations; whether it be a thunderstorm or a stuck rope, they find a solution.

eM has spent most of the last 18 years travelling around the world for climbing. They’re the only Canadian woman to have climbed 5.14a trad and onsighted 5.13d sport. eM is also a rock guide and loves sharing their passion. Outside of climbing, eM loves dancing, acro-yoga, baking and playing board games

CLINIC INSTRUCTOR

Lor fell in love with climbing at a gym in Detroit, Michigan when they were twelve years old. As a young climber, they split their time between competitive climbing and exploring sandstone crags in the southeast. Lor has a diverse background in the climbing industry as a guide, route setter, and coach. They now work as a mental training coach and therapist, exploring the relationship between mental health, mental performance, and community resilience in adventure sports. Lor loves all types of climbing, but they are especially drawn to steep splitter cracks and desert towers.

CLINIC INSTRUCTOR

Alexis is a longtime lover of the outdoors and teaching. Alexis has a background in elementary education and human rights. She has been guiding adventures in the outdoors since 2016 and especially loves sharing the transformative power of nature with youth. 

She is a co-founder of Kinship Climbing Collective, a climbing and leadership program for New York City girls and gender-expansive youth, and Rise Outside, a New York based 501c3 dedicated to creating access to outdoor adventure for underrepresented communities through inclusive and qualified mentorship. 

Alexis is a working musician and one half of the band Sleigh Bells.

CLINIC INSTRUCTOR + BROWN GIRLS CLIMB • FILM SCREENINGS & DISCUSSION

Athe Torri Cervantes’ love of mountains flows through their lineage. They grew up exploring their mother’s native land of the Ecuadorian Andes, and their father’s Italian Alps.  

Today, Athe lives in the Hudson Valley — working in photography, rock and ice climbing, and other mountain endeavors. They are dedicated to creating access to climbing and the outdoors for underrepresented communities.

CLINIC INSTRUCTOR

Sam has always been drawn to climbing. They started at 3 years old, climbing the banister and trees of their home, and quickly progressed to rock. As a teen, they found mentorship in the community and learned the skills to top rope and teach other youth. Over the years, they progressed from sport, trad, Ice, and alpine climbing in the Northeast and other ranges across the US.

Sam has worked for 15 years in outdoor education with pre-k through 12th graders. They have also been working as an organizer and volunteer of the Adirondack Queer Icefest since its founding in 2021. With these experiences, Sam brings a passion for teaching others skills to empower their own pursuits and a dedication to expanding the climbing community for marginalized people.

CLINIC INSTRUCTOR

Hann found climbing in college and immediately recognized the sport as a catalyst for growth and healing in their own journey and became eager to share this with others. Their work as an Apprentice Rock Guide, Single Pitch Instructor, and Climbing Coach/Program Manager is deeply rooted in mentorship, shared learning and a love for the outdoors. From the gym to the crag, Hann is passionate about facilitating opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds to deepen their connections with their minds + bodies, their community and the natural world around them through rock climbing and movement. 

GARMENT + GEAR GLOW UP STATION

Mollie is a recreational climber, sewist, maker, aerialist, and musician (and environmental professional) living along the Shawangunk Ridge in New York. She loves to imagine new ways to improve gear and clothing to better suit climbing needs and prides herself in giving new life (and style!) to well-loved gear and clothes. She gets a kick out of sharing these skills with others and building community through DIY mentoring. 

SALSA DANCING INSTRUCTOR

Luca Verano Diaz (he/they) was raised by a single immigrant mother who played Salsa on Saturday mornings because it felt like the closest proximity to home, Cuba. Luca knew from a young age how to feel embodied by los timbales y las congas through the isolations of his hips, and the force of his footwork with la clave. Luca channels the flow of water, the groundedness of the earth, the speed of the wind, and the fire in their soul to guide them through the orchestras of salsa music when executing their movement. Luca was formally trained in a Salsa On2 dance company for over 10 years throughout their adolescence and early adulthood. Thankfully, Luca has cut ties with all dance companies and has decided to endure the radical act of reenvisioning more queer and trans people dancing Salsa on the dance floor through creating affinity learning spaces. They co-founded TGNCOn2 in 2023, a trans-exclusive initiative to trans-exclusive salsa classes where they taught salsa through centering gender/body autonomy through a trauma informed lens. Luca has been part of Las Mariquitas collective for the past three years as a dance facilitator and performer in salsa with the element of burlesque! Through their workshops, performances and classes – Luca strives to continue to build queer and trans communities through the love of salsa. 

WEST WIND COUNSELING • WORKSHOP FACILITATOR

Laurel Cepero (she/her), MA, LPCC, is a trauma-focused counselor, climber, and the founder of West Wind Counseling in Denver. She combines her years of experience facilitating climbing and outdoor groups with her clinical mental health training to build programs that integrate mental health perspectives into climbing. In her private practice, Laurel helps clients use climbing as a tool for self-reflection, nervous-system regulation, and trauma healing. 

ACCESS FUND • WORKSHOP FACILITATOR

Molly is constantly finding ways to combine her creativity, and her love for climbing and the outdoors. As Access Fund Northeast Regional Manager, she is lucky to get to work on many of the things she is most passionate about -- climbing, community, and protecting and stewarding landscapes. A lifelong lover of the outdoors, Molly has worn many hats throughout the years -- including climbing guide, ski patroller, carpenter, and trail worker -- as she sought out meaningful work that allowed her to spend time outside in beautiful places. Finding a way to care for the land that we all love to recreate on has always been extremely important to Molly, and she is grateful to have the opportunity to help protect, and steward the cliffs that bring us all so much fulfillment and joy, and to work within climbing communities to provide support and guidance to those doing that important work.

Molly lives in Jackson, New Hampshire, in the White Mountains region. She loves her home cliffs and mountains deeply, but also enjoys the way her work with Access Fund takes her all over the Northeast and sometimes beyond. Molly is also a watercolor painter, and often has her paints and brushes with her when exploring new places, expressing and sharing her love of the natural world through her artwork.

YOGA INSTRUCTOR

Mara Lileas is originally from Ohio but has lived in NY for over 20 years. She is enthusiastic about music, climbing, spirituality and being outside. All about dismantling the stigmas around “yoga”, you will find that her teaching style is non judgmental, all inclusive, and grounded in authenticity. Since 2012 she has taught thousands of yoga classes, owned and managed studios, and ran weekend yoga retreats. “By focusing on healthy anatomical movements and postures, we can take care of our bodies and minds. I hope to help people connect with their body and breathe in a way that feels good to them. I believe there are a lot of right ways to move our body, lets find the ways that work for you. It’s all about connection.

WORKSHOP FACILITATOR

Eich (“Like” but with no L or “Bike” with no B) Is a non-binary silly-billy who is fascinated by the world and wants to learn about everything! They’re a multidisciplinary artist, craftsperson, friend, community member, and wack-a-doodle. They hold degrees in both Classic American, and Cirque Nouveau styles of clown (genuinely). Let’s laugh and cry and face the absurdity of what it means to be a person together!!

WORKSHOP FACILITATOR

Cal is first gen queer Mama, seasoned climate justice organizer, direct action practitioner, forest farmer, and outdoor climber dedicated to community resiliency and collective liberation. Cal is based in the Gunks, where they co-operate a forest farm & radical land project on the slopes of Millbrook Mountain. When they aren’t throwing down in the streets, you can usually find them on the land chopping wood, foraging, or at the local crag with their harness, kid and loyal dog companions.

PANELIST

Patty started climbing in the early 1990’s in a small town in New Hampshire. Though she has climbed all over the U.S., for nearly 30 years now she has called The Gunks home. 

She began guiding in 2003 after the birth of her son. Patty is an AMGA Certified Rock Instructor and a certified SPI Provider. Hoping to share the empowerment she found in climbing, Patty now trains and mentors the next generation of guides. Having been one of only a few female guides in her region for years, championing diversity is a driving force. She actively leads women’s and non-binary programs to create welcoming, inclusive spaces for underrepresented climbers. 

Today, Patty serves as the Head Guide for Gunks Guides Climbing School, where she is known for her calm leadership and warm teaching style.

PANELIST

Olivia is a native New Yorker who has been bouldering for over three years. When she first began climbing in New York, she quickly noticed the disparities in accessibility and representation that marginalized communities faced.  As someone who was often the only Black woman in the gym, she wanted to help create spaces where people could feel more welcomed and connected. She partnered with her home gym, Brooklyn Bouldering Project, to create and facilitate a monthly QTPOC (Queer and Trans People of Color) climb night, a space for queer people of color to come together, climb and build community. She loves finding new ways to bridge the gap between climbing and accessibility and bring people together through these community-centered events. 

Olivia works as Marketing Coordinator where she has gained the skills to network and reach out to climbing organizations and brands to provide free gears and other resources for her participants at her community meetup. In her free time, Olivia loves to go to Powerlinez with some friends, explore new climbing areas and crush some boulders. 

PANELIST

Keshy is avid rock climber. She grew up unknowingly deep water soloing in quarries growing up in northern massachusetts removed from climbing culture. She discovered rock climbing through the small rock climbing community at her college, and fell in love with the sport in 2020 climbing in Moss Island, and Mocanaqua. She continues to expand her climbing horizons pushing herself on Sport, and Trad alike. She is currently working in the industry as a lead climbing instructor, and loves to share her excitement for the sport. As she refines her multi-pitch systems Big Wall better watch out, for Keshy’s coming to summit TALL!

She’s honored to speak at the flash foxy panel being an admirer of their work, and an avid gunks climber for the past 4 years 

PANELIST

Iris is a longtime gunks superfan with 16 seasons under her belt. She started out as a Peterskill TR hero and transitioned to leading Trad a few years later. Lately she's not adverse to bouldering. Iris serves on the leadership team of Kinship Climbing Collective and loves sharing her passion for climbing with the next generation. When Iris is not playing on rocks you can find doing her day job as a home textile designer.

Iris attended the first Flash Foxy event in the Gunks TEN YEARS AGO and she is honored to be speaking on the panel and sharing her passion with this community.

WORKSHOP FACILITATOR

Caleb Seguin has been as an anti-colonial educator for over a decade, and for much longer than that, he has loved to be outside. Caleb is the Director of Camp Unirondack, a summer camp for youth with a focus on social justice, intentional community, and youth empowerment. Caleb is also the owner and operator of Playful Pianos music studio for kids, and a former Project Lead at Northern Youth Abroad, helping Indigenous youth in Canada’s northern territories develop volunteer projects to serve their communities. 

As an Indigenous person, Caleb’s work is always informed by the Anishinaabe teachings that he grew up with. He draws inspiration from the core principles of Anishinaabe worldview to develop educational tools that help people think differently about things like gender, sexuality, colonization, youth autonomy, systems of power, resistance, community responsibility, and our relationships with the natural world. Born and raised in Canada, Caleb currently lives near Albany, NY, with his dog Pingo, and has a deep passion for jigsaw puzzles and peach cobbler. 

BROWN GIRLS CLIMB • FILM SCREENINGS & DISCUSSION

Brittany Leavitt is a Maryland-born, Brooklyn-based outdoor educator, climber, adventure, and community organizer whose work connects outdoor education, access, stewardship, and community care.

As Executive Director and co-founder of Brown Girls Climb, Brittany has spent the last 10 years creating opportunities for women and gender-expansive people of color to build skills, find mentorship, and step into leadership in climbing and the outdoors.

While working in the outdoor industry for over 20 years varies roles..you can also find Brittany adventuring around the world from climbing peaks like Kilimanjaro and bouldering in Fontainebleau to backpacking through Patagonia. Currently she is a Wilderness Medicine Instructor with Backcountry Pulse, Leave No Trace Level 2 Instructor, New York State Licensed Guide, Single Pitch Instructor Candidate, and Protect Our Winters climbing athlete.

When she isn’t climbing, instructing, or trail running, Brittany loves finding pockets of nature throughout NYC and co-coordinating Cooper Street Community Garden in Brooklyn. Across her work, she believes outdoor access, community care, climate justice, and human rights are deeply connected.

AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor, Wilderness First Responder

AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor, Wilderness First Responder

AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor, Wilderness First Aid

AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor, AMGA Rock Guide Apprentice, AMGA Apprentice Alpine Guide, AMGA Ice Instructor Course Graduate, Wilderness First Responder

AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor, Wilderness First Responder

AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor, AMGA Rock Guide Apprentice, Wilderness First Responder

@chalk.eaterz

@cam_maam

Event Coordinator

Managing Director